Many of the items produced in piecegoods manufacturing processes are placed in boxes, which are then stacked one on top of the other and transported to intermediate storage localities or to later process stages. Other products which are placed in boxes and the boxes then stacked for further transport include agricultural and garden products.
It is found that filling and emptying of these boxes can result in serious wear-and-tear on the body and in personal injury. For instance, subsequent to filling one box, or crate, the worker is required to turn and face a stack of empty boxes, to remove an empty box from the stack, and to turn back to the filled box and place the empty box thereon. The spine or back of the worker is placed under considerable strain as a result of the twisting and bending movements constantly performed by the worker to this end. The task of moving the boxes also involves unnecessary working steps, which detracts from optimum production efficiency.